


Corrine: Knock on the Door

by slaysvamps



Series: Corrine Wright Chronicles [10]
Category: World of Darkness (Games)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:00:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29443014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slaysvamps/pseuds/slaysvamps
Summary: An unwanted visit from the police may cause problems for Corrine Wright and her family.
Relationships: Eliza Gentry/Cormac "Mac" Brennan
Series: Corrine Wright Chronicles [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1463521





	Corrine: Knock on the Door

**Author's Note:**

> While we have used the names of some celebrities and their likenesses (such as the Backstreet Boys) this is not a RPF.

**May 2002**

I’d only been home from my class in Boston about fifteen minutes when I heard a knock on my door. I wasn’t expecting anyone, so I approached it quietly, looking through the peephole when I was close enough to do so.

Unfortunately, I instantly recognized the man who stood in the hallway. Eddie Lane had been one of my biological father’s ghouls when he had been a vampire, one of his human servants. I had no idea who controlled the man now, but there he was, dressed in casual cop attire, jeans, Salem PD t-shirt and a badge clipped on his belt. There was another gentleman with him that I’d never seen before, one who looked to be about the same age as Eddie, with dark hair and skin slightly darker than Eddie’s.

The Salam police had become a seriously permanent fixture in my life since the last time I’d talked to Eddie and I was beginning to get annoyed. I was pulled over at least once a week, sometimes more, regardless of the fact that I was never speeding. I was constantly being followed, sometimes by unmarked vehicles. Cops were even showing up at restaurants where I ate or stores when I was shopping. It was really getting out of hand.

I used magick to slam shut my mind from intrusion. I didn’t know if Eddie was capable of mind reading or control, but it couldn’t hurt to stay safe as I reminded myself not to make eye contact with him. Eddie was looking at the other guy when I peeked out, but as I was taking in the scene, he turned to look at the door and with a non-threatening voice said, “Corrine, I know you’re in there. I just want to talk to you for a moment.”

I unlocked and opened the door, holding it so that only my body was visible. “What can I do for you officer?” I asked in a pleasant voice, being sure to get my eyes locked on his chin. I didn’t have to hear Eliza’s voice in my head, warning me to never make eye contact with anyone associated with the vampires. Best to play it safe there as well.

He smiled at me, but I had no idea if he was being friendly or malicious. “Can I come in? I just want to talk to you for a moment. In private.”

I thought about it for a moment, then stepped back. “Of course, you can.”

He nodded, then turned to the other guy. “Wait down by the stairs.” The other officer glanced my way quickly, but must have figured I was harmless because he merely nodded in answer and headed down the hall. Once Eddie was inside my apartment and the door was shut he asked, “So, how have you been?”

I moved deeper into the apartment and crossed my arms over my torso. “I’m fine, Eddie. And yourself?”

He shrugged dismissively. “Not bad. So, how’s your mom?” He put his hand up to stop my reply. “I don’t want to know where she is, just how she is.”

I heaved a sigh and turned from him to walk toward the windows that made up the back wall of my apartment. “Can’t you just drop it, Eddie?” I glanced over my shoulder at him. “And call off your dogs who’ve taken up residence outside my building?”

“Drop what Corrine? I do care how she’s doing. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have done what I did to get her away. Victoria wanted to kill me; she knew I’d gotten her out. And the dogs aren’t mine. They don’t want you, kiddo. If we wanted you, we could have taken you numerous times. But old man Radek says you’re still golden because of the contract your folks signed. Your Ma lived up to her part becoming Mac’s ghoul, so we’re gonna let you be. They’re just watching for Eliza.”

I turned my gaze back to the window again. “I appreciate your concern and I’m grateful that you helped her, but I have nothing to tell you. I told you that the last time we talked.”

The last time I’d seen Eddie Lane, I’d attempted to make him think that Eliza was dead. Unfortunately, I’m the worlds crappiest liar and I wasn’t sure he’d believed me. Looks like he hadn’t. besides that, I didn’t trust. I didn’t care that he’d helped Eliza get away when Mac died. That was then and he was still controlled by the vampires and they couldn’t know where Eliza was or that Mac had come back from the dead. I had to make sure that didn’t happen. For all our sakes.

“I just want a little reassurance that me putting my own neck on the line wasn’t wasted. And you can drop the defenses; your grandma never taught me how to control anyone’s mind. I’m not here to take you in or anything like that. I do just want to talk, if you can see your way to turn the attitude down a notch or three.”

Eddie had a lot of nerve coming into my own house and thinking he controlled the situation. I decided not to put him in his place for the moment, hoping that maybe he’d let something slip about what they vampires knew or thought they knew. I regarded him coldly as I turned to face him again. “What do you want to know?” I asked through partially clenched teeth.

“Let’s start with my previous question. How is Eliza?”

There was no sense in trying to maintain the rouse that she was dead, so I answered, “Fine.”

“That’s good to hear. Now was that so hard?”

“Anything else?”

“As I said chippet, old man Radek says we can’t touch you,” Eddie commented, slipping his hands into his back pockets. “For now. How long do you think it’ll take him to get tired of waiting and send for you to get your mother out of hiding? Hmmm? And you do know your folks made a lot of enemies while they were here. How long till one of them comes to collect? You need a friend, Miss Wright. And as awful as you may think me and as snotty a little brat as you’ve been just now, I am it. I got Eliza out at much risk to myself with zero thanks from her or you for that matter. There will come a time when they will come for you, bet on it. Wouldn’t you like a little warning?”

“You egotistical bastard,” I said, wanting nothing more than him out of my house. “What makes you think that I’m going to trust you or any warnings you may deem to pass my way? Sure, you saved Eliza, for which I thanked you the last time we talked, but you’re back safe and sound with the vampires now, like a good little puppy.”

He held his arms out away from his body. “Use your magick. Find out for yourself how truthful I am.”

“Don’t think that I wouldn’t,” I said, moving toward the door. “Is there anything else? I have stuff I need to get done.”

Given what I knew from Mac and Eliza about how the vampire society worked, I understood all too well that if they found out the role that Eddie had played in Eliza’s escape, he would be dead meat. It was in his best interest to keep his involvement under wraps, which meant making sure they didn’t find Eliza or call me in for questioning. What I didn’t understand was what he hoped to gain by this visit. If he hoped to frighten me, then he overly guessed what I was capable of. I may be relatively new to my magick, but I could handle him if I needed to.

Luckily, one of the first things I’d done when I got home was light a candle, so I had a flame to use as a focus to read his thoughts. I could only get the surface ones, which didn’t give me too many answers.

_“Why won’t she believe me. I am telling the truth. I only want to help her.”_

Not that he would understand it, but I didn’t need his help. When I was next to the door, I turned to look at him and said, “Look Eddie, I know that you are concerned about Eliza or you wouldn’t have helped her get away after Mac was killed. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t get out of you anything that I might tell you about her.”

To my horror, Eddie admitted, “I am going to tell them what I get out of you. Look, if they have nothing on her, they will try all the harder and may very well overrule Radek and come after you. But, if they get a little here and there, some near misses and half sightings, then they will be content that what they’re doing right now is enough. It has to be played very carefully, but I do need some good solid info to start.”

My eyes narrowed again. “Like what?”

“You tell me. What are you willing to give over to protect her?”

“I’m not willing to give up anything,” I told him honestly. I hesitated for a minute; hoping to mislead him in the wrong direction, I said in a quiet voice, “She’s in Mexico.”

I was taking a risk, trying to lie again and it wasn’t a great one to begin with. Eddie grinned slightly, then said, “You’re lying. You know Corrine; you’re not entirely human yourself.” I narrowed my gaze, wondering what he meant, then he continued, “Oh, I’m not talking about your magick. The blood that first made me what I am still flows through your veins as well. By my count that makes you a quarter vampire. They experimented on your Ma to see what special things she had; they might want to do the same with you.”

He paused for affect, then added, “I am sure the only way the vamps will ever get to your Ma is through you. Pull you in, make her come out of hiding. How rational do you think she’ll be, how clear do you think her mind will be knowing they have you? She’ll fly into a rage and make a mistake. Then they’ll have both of you. Think on it for a moment, do this to save not only her, but yourself as well.”

I didn’t understand what Eddie meant entirely. Yes, Eliza was a dhampyr, a child of a human and a vampire, and as her daughter, I was sure that there were some special skills that I could have inherited from her, but the contract was clear that the vampires left me alone. If there was any doubt of that, then no one in my family would have entertained my desire to stay in Salem after Mac’s ‘death’.

“What do you mean that my blood and yours are connected?” I asked him.

“Your grandmother,” Eddie said. “She was my first ‘master’. Hell, your dad was my second, but it’s that first one that’ll get ya.”

I looked at him in surprise. “Kate was your master? For how long?”

“Too long. Just over thirty years. She was not the most forgiving. She ‘took’ me because I hurt your mom. She loved to keep a hold over people. I... I have a daughter, and a grandson if you can believe that. I’ve never known either of them. Kate hid them away and made sure I never found them while she was alive.”

“Where are they now?”

“Last I knew they were in Michigan. I found ‘em after she died. But they wouldn’t have known me.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, genuinely feeling bad for him. “I never met Kate, but I got the impression she was only out to serve herself.”

“That she was.”

“Are they safe now?”

“Well, Kate is dead. So, yeah, they are.”

“You said something about hurting Eliza. What did you mean by that?”

“I knew Eliza when we were younger. I was a druggie, so I don’t remember much other than what Kate told me about.”

“And what exactly was that?”

Edie half laughed. “I guess I was kinda a spoiled rich kid bastard.”

His response surprised me slightly. “And Eliza? What happened with her?”

“She kicked the shit outta me,” he replied with a chuckle. “I threatened to kill her for it, not really meaning it, but I’d just my ass handed to me by a girl.”

“She has a way of doing that. Were you lovers?”

“We had dated.”

I looked down at my hands. “That was before Mac, right?” I asked in a quiet voice.

“Yes, long before him.”

I was silent for a moment, reaching out to adjust something on the table next to the door to buy some time. “I understand that you have a history with Eliza, Eddie, and that you want to protect her, but I can’t tell you anything. Hell, I’m living a lie with my friends to protect her, what makes you think I’m going to tell you when I won’t share information with the people I feel closest to? She’s okay, and she’s far from here. That’s all you need to know.” I crossed my arms and looked at his chin. “She isn’t deluded into thinking they won’t find her, but she’s ready if they do. I can’t say more than that.”

“How does she like working at the greenhouse?” he asked suddenly.

I didn’t answer him, even though his question alarmed me greatly. I’d already proven to him that I didn’t lie well, and I didn’t want to chance giving anything away. I silently told myself that besides fighting, Eliza didn’t have many marketable skills. She’d worked at a greenhouse before. Eddie was just making an educated guess. That didn’t mean he knew where she was, did it?

Eddie snorted a short laugh. “Save it kiddo, I won’t tell ‘em where she is. Think about it for a day or two and get back to me.” He put his card on the table near the door and turned to leave. At the door, he paused and added, “Also, I know Kate’s blood better than anyone alive, except your mom, I know the rage it carries, the rage your mom has, you do, too. And with you being a new witch and all on top of it... Well, if something ever ‘happens’, don’t try and clean it up yourself. Give me a call, will ya? Let me help.”

I had a pretty good idea I knew what he was alluding to, but I wasn’t sure why he thought I’d ever turn to him for help. “I may have Kate’s blood, but don’t pretend to know me, Eddie, or my rage,” I hissed. “Thanks for stopping by.”

He smiled, but not in a friendly way. “Oh, I do know you Corrine. You know, I was sorry to see Brian go. He was a nice kid. Looked to be pretty good in the sack too.” I felt my upper lip curl in disgust at his words and thankfully he walked out the door, but not before adding, “We could take you at any time.”

Enough was enough. I read his thoughts again to see just how much he thought he knew. I didn’t get the exact name, but he thought he knew the name of a greenhouse where Eliza worked. He also had a town name, but I couldn’t quite grasp it. He was trying to use my reaction to confirm what he thought he knew. I had to be careful what I let slip.

“You could, but Radek would pay the price,” I said and we both knew what that meant. Ford Radek was one of the higher up vampires in the city and whatever contract my parents had signed with them said if anything happened to me, his life was forfeit and trust me, Eliza would come calling for it. “We both know that. Eliza and I have both given them all we’re going to.” I shut the door firmly being him and locked it.

I knew that I was safe inside the apartment and that I had my magick to protect me, but that didn’t stop me from going to my desk and pulling out my gun. I’d had to stop carrying it when the police had increased their harassment because I didn’t have a concealed weapons permit. Not yet anyhow. I’d signed up for the class and was just waiting to complete it.

I hadn’t mentioned any of this to Mac or Eliza yet, but I was getting the feeling I was going to have to sooner rather than later. I hadn’t told Joel either.

**Author's Note:**

> My gaming group has always played fast and loose with the White Wolf rules, including lots of things we see in various TV shows, movies and books. We were playing mostly in the late 1990s and early 2000s so we use/used the editions available at that time.
> 
> We also threw all the 'By Night' rules out of the window and created our own rulers in our cities. Some of the cannon White Wolf characters may show up from time to time, but don't expect them to be like the books.
> 
> I'll be separating these stories both by character and by city, so some stories may be listed under multiple Series under my profile here on AO3.
> 
> If you're interested in learning more about our world 'After Dark' please visit my website at www.whendarknessfalls.net.


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